I have been to a web site calling itself the OFT. Ok you do not like acronyms like me that means Office Of Fair Trading or (OOFT for short).
You can get, an awe-inspiring, lots of what you can do and what you cannot do in there. If you are Internet savvy you can get emails notifying you the important trading shite in UK. By the way Word does not have “shite” in its dictionary. About time we put that in eh?
A few years ago I had a little thought…. (as lots of people come to my place and tell me mournful stories about their plight)….. to have an internet link to rant and rave about their problems. So I went ahead and created a website on my yahoo groups thingy, called Radio Blue Rant Spot. (Well the link is not their any more as I took it off.) Told all my friends …. Incidentally you know the friend is really “fri ends” init…….. and some more by placing the link in all my emails so that they all can tell their stories to the rest of the world. Well, the idea in my mind is that more people read about it; what you think becomes more universal with the help of the internet. But you know what? They did not want to write anything in the Rant Spot or even on a piece of paper. That is when I realised most of the people are not able to put their thoughts into paper. They think there is something wrong with their thoughts. Or they have no sense of writing/grammar. Or is it that they have no self-belief? So I thought I will write for them!
I come to complains department here now; first
The Council Tax.
I think I talked about this in an earlier (Tuesday, March 23, 2004) log. But this is what happened to me friend. And this is what he said:
“ I am not employed due to a back injury and depend on benefits. As I am getting Incapacity benefit I have to pay 20% of my Council Tax. Bit heavy but I think I can just manage it. So I have been paying my dues since 1997. Gosh it goes up every year at the rate of 5.5%. Do you know the Police increased its share of the loot by 100%? I think that is mainly, the free party people who has contributed towards it? Joke!”
“So in year 2001 I did not get any papers about the tax for a while and all of a sudden I got this letter saying that I have been taken to the courts for not payment of tax and had been awarded fine and court costs. Now the initial amount I had to pay was only 98 quid but now the price tag is £197. there was no way they are going to listen to my despair. The woman at the Amelia court was like a dragon. The moment she let her accusing eyes on me I knew I will not get anywhere. Listen to me no no no. I had to listen to her why I had to pay. She will not listen to me at all. I had a friend who told her ‘Why don’t you listen to him?’. She just glared at him. I had to pocket out the dosh.”
“You know that was then. So I set it up with my bank account to get the money to the council with direct debit. So far so good, till this April. All of a sudden my bank account is down to 4 quid with a few direct debit payments due. Reason the council is charging me the full amount instead of 20%. Don’t know what to do? May be it is my turn to get back at that dragon in the council place init.”
Richer Sounds:
This is another story from a pal of mine. Here it is:
“I managed to scrounge myself to save a bit of money to buy my girl friend a prezzie for her b’day. She liked to get a minidisk recorder. I got one myself and she wanted a similar one. My one I got it off a friend who had an unwanted present. So came cheap. By and by it passed her b’day and I had enough money by x’mas. So after a heavy consultation through the internet and me mates I decided to try Richer Sounds in Bristol. Phoned the man in Richer Sounds.Wow there is a minidisk recorder for £150, I was told. Sort of fitted my pocket. “
“Went to the shop and my man says “Sorry sir, out of stock.” I said could you order one for me and I asked my man “Is it a recorder?” He said “Ai I got one meself, it is a bargain for that price.” So I gave me name and went away to come back in a week. I phoned after a week and told the guy at the other end who I was and I ordered a minidisk recorder and he said he got it. Next day I scurried to Richer Sounds and told the sales person the name and that there is a minidisk recorder ordered for me. He came back with it and said £149. And I paid and he packed it into a bag, I went home. I gave the prezzie to me girl friend and she gave me a kiss and wow man it was good feeling. She went away for the Christmas.”
“I got a call from her very angry telling me off for buying her a sodding mini disk player. What? No the man said it is a recorder and I got another earful for arguing about it. Anyway she got back in mid January and I took it back in first week of February, and explained to the man as I explained to you guys earlier. After looking at the blessed thing the sales person goes “I got to ask the manager.” He went off and after a few minutes he comes back and says “Sorry sir you have to return it within 14 days.” That is it. I got a mini disk player which will not play the disks I recorded on the other minidisk player. And I got a cross eyed girl friend who will not trust me, on even buying her loaf of bread. So I hereby put Richer Sounds of Bristol on the Watch List.”
There's an old story told in the Tennessee hill country about a woodsman who found a mirror that someone, possibly a tourist, had lost. He took a good look in it, saying,
"I'll be dadblamed if it ain't my old Paw. I never knew he'd had his pickshur took."
He took the mirror home and hid it in the attic.
But his wife had grown suspicious of all that rumbling up there. When the old boy left the house, she went to the attic, hunted around, and found the mirror. She looked into it, then remarked,
"So, that's the old biddy he's been chasin'!"
Any queries please address to alwaysshariff@Nospam'yahoo.co.uk
